By IANS
Mumbai : The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Thursday arrested three people for milk adulteration barely a day after offences under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act were made cognisable and non-bailable.
The FDA confiscated a stock of 400 litres of adulterated milk from Sanjay Nomala and Ravi Signam from Bandra, and Nagesh Khadari from the central suburb of Kurla.
“They will be produced before a magistrate as their offences are cognisable and non-bailable as per the recent amendment to the concerned act,” Suhas Chaudhari, joint commissioner FDA, told IANS.
“The new amendment to section 20 of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act came into effect Jan 16,” Chaudhari said.
The Act has been amended specifically to check milk adulteration that has been rampant in Mumbai and its suburbs. Though the authorities have exposed several such crimes, the accused managed to get away because of loopholes in the law, the joint commissioner said.
The Prevention of Food Adulteration (Maharashtra Amendment) Act, 2006 authorises police officials of the rank of inspector and above to arrest suspects without warrant.